updated 12:15 pm EDT, Thu May 27, 2010

Duarte official as UE Director for Android

Google followed up on Matias Duarte's departure from Palm to confirm that he had been hired as the User Experience Director for Android. The mobile OS producer didn't imply a particular focus for the new recruit, but his experience as a chief architect of Palm's webOS interface points to future design changes.

The increased pace of new talent additions at Google for the Android team parallels the extra importance of the platform. Aside from hoping to rival Apple among modern smartphones, Google is also now expanding into the living room with Google TV, where a simple interface has a higher level of importance. It may need Duarte's help for a Verizon tablet, although promises from Verizon of more details have so far gone unfulfilled.